Safety appliance for lamps.



Patented Sept. 5, I899.

W. J. DOWNEY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR LAMPS.

(Application filed Tm 24, 1899 (No Model.)

WITNESSES:

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ATTORNEYS m: punms PEYERS c0. rno'murno. wAsnmomm NlTED STATES PATENTErica XVILLIAM J. DOWNEY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE F OR LAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 632,518, datedSeptember 5, 1899.

Application filed January 24,1899. Serial No. 703,254. (No modelfi ToctZZ whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM J. DowNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Appliances forLamps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The objects of this invention are to secure increased safety againstexplosion of a lamp or stove, to provide a simple and inexpensiveconstruction, to enable the safety devices to be applied to lamps nowcommonly found in the market, to more effectually prevent theair-passages from becoming clogged by accumulations of dust, and tosecure other ad' vantages and results, some'of which may be referred tohereinafter in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved appliance for lamps, oil-stoves,and the like employing combustible fluids adapted to generate gases ofmore or less explosive character and in the arrangements andcombinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will behereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters ofreference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several views,Figure 1 is an elevation showing a portion of an ordinary lamp to whichmy improvement has been applied. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of thesame, taken at line m. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through thevertical axis of the appliance. Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of aportion of the appliance, showing means for closing the air-passagethereof 'when the lamp or stove filled with oil is to be conveyed fromplace to place and it is desired to effectually prevent the escape ofoil through the said air-passage.

In said drawings, a indicates a lamp, stove,

oil-chamber, or receptacle having a filling-- opening through which theoil is poured from a can or reservoir into said chamber or receptacle,the said chamber or receptacle being ordinarily provided, especiallywhen the lamp-body is of glass or the like, with ver= tical flanges (notshown) around said opening, formed usually integral with the said body.Around this said flange is ordinarily applied a collar b, which is heldin place frequently by cement, plaster-of-paris, or any other suitablematerial, the said collar at its upper end having a screw-thread toreceive the threaded cap of the lamp. This collar Z) may be of any shapeor construction commonly found in lamps or may be especially provided inconnection with the improved safety appliance.

cindicates the bodyof the safety appliance, which consists, preferably,of a cylindrical or approximately cylindrical piece of metal havingthreads 0 at its .lower end adapted to en gage the threads of the collarb. Above said threads the said body 0 is provided with a num* ber ofsmall perforations c ,which serve to allow an outflow of any gas fromwithin the oilchamber of the body or receptacle a, thus preventing anyaccumulation of gas under pressure within the said body a and aconsequent explosion when the latter is heated. The perforations cextend horizontally through the sides of the cylindrical body 0, andthus, although small, there is no danger of their becoming clogged bydust settling on the body, and they are constantly uncovered from theoutside, so that they can readily be cleaned out should by anypossibility said holes become clogged. The top of the said body 0 isalso provided with screw-threads.

The cap (Z, closing the upper end of the perforated portion a, preventsthe mischievous insertion of articles into the lamp. The cap cl alsoserves under some circumstances as a bearing or support for a valve orclosure 6, the latter comprising a rod f, having a pivotal bearing insaid cap d and above the said cap having a finger piece or handle g, bymeans of which the said rod may be turned in the said cap. The said rodf is threaded,

and upon it is arranged a correspondinglyportion of the lamp becomeheated and the with the shaft f, and thus to insure a positive movementof the valve-head. By turning the handle g in one direction the saidvalve-head is forced down upon its valve-seat, closing the oil or airpassage j, and thus preventing the escape of oil, should it be desiredto convey the lamp a distance, and avoiding danger of spilling the oilthrough the said passage.

The perforations 0 while permitting an outflow of oil, are ofsufficiently small size as to prevent the passage of a flametherethrough, and thus should the wick-receiving accumulation of dustand oil thereon become ignited the flame will not pass through theperforations 'into the lamp to ignite the oil therein.

While I have described the invention in its preferred form, I am awarethat various other changes may be made in adapting the device to variousconditi0ns,'and while I have described the invention in positive terms Ido not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereby excepting as thestate of the art may require.

Having thus described the I claim as new is- 1. The combination with thethreaded collar l), of a threaded cylindrical body 0, having a number ofsmall perforations extendin g horizontally through the walls thereof andinvention, what having threads at its upper and lower ends, theperforations being disposed intermediate of said ends, a cap (1, closingthe upper end of said perforated body a, and providing a perforation andbearing for a shaft f, a fingerpiece for manipulating said shaft fromthe turn in said perforation and at its inner end being threaded and atits outer end provided with a finger-piece, and a valve-head arrangedwithin the perforated portion c,on the threaded end of the shaft, allsubstantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this14th day of January, 1899.

WILLIAM J. DOWNEY.

iVitnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, C. B. PITNEY.

